Nature's 'nudge' was a reminder

Mother Nature gave us another little nudge the other day, a gentle reminder that we live in earthquake country and we need forever to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

This time it was a 4.7 on the Richter scale and the temblor was centered in the desert, near Anza.

By Southern California standards that seems a fairly modest shaker, certainly nothing like the one we had three years ago on Easter Sunday.

That was a 7.2 and I remember it lasting at least 30 to 45 seconds. That was the first earthquake I’ve ever encountered that I fell it was necessary to call my family in other parts of the country to let them know I was OK.

It was centered in Mexicali, Mexico, and did an estimated $9 million in damage on the American side of the border, according to news reports at the time. Two people from Mexicali were killed that day.

I thought it was ironic that the quake the other day came on the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima, Japan. Remember watching those images on television? Waves rolled over the east Japan coast, carrying homes, cars, buses and other large items as if they were driftwood.

I texted a Japanese-American friend in Seattle on Monday, saying I was thinking about all my Japanese friends, including her. She responded by saying she paid $100 to have her hair cut that day, with most of the money going to the Japanese Relief Fund.

“That’s a lot to pay for a haircut,” she said. “But I felt I had to do something. Those people still need help.”

Her response made me curious about what’s happened in Fukushima since that terrible day. From what I read on the web versions of The Japan Times, Daily Yomiuri, and a handful of international publications, recovery has been difficult.

First, more than 18,000 people are feared to have died, including 2,200 who never have been found. About 90 percent were killed in the tsunami, which washed away about a dozen towns along the coast. Fifty-six percent of those killed were 65 and older.

The area has had more than 9,500 aftershocks since that 9.0 quake on March 11, 2011. The World Bank has estimated that the total damage amounts to about $235 billion.

And because of the tremendous damage at the coastal nuclear power plant, most of those abandoned villages are still ghost towns. One publication said it could take as long as 40 years before that plant can be fully decommissioned.

Many people forced to abandon those cities are living in school gymnasiums and other public buildings more than 30 miles away. Others are living in temporary shelters, which for a family of five is about 300 square feet.

Alcoholism and gambling are on the rise, along with unemployment.

It all sounds like pretty bleak picture.

It’s hard to imagine that something so catastrophic could happen in Southern California, but one never knows. And with all the mock exercises such as the annual Great Shakeout, surviving the instant earthquake is what we’ve been trained to do. What happens in the longer run would be pretty unpredictable.

Maybe that’s why every now and then, we’re reminded with a little “nudge.” It’s something to think about.